The 14th Annual 2019 World AIDS Marathon
The 14th annual 2019 World AIDS Marathon will be run on December 1, 2019 in Kisumu, Kenya. The World AIDS Marathon raises funds for research toward a vaccine or cure for AIDS and to benefit those living with HIV/AIDS. Another goal of the Marathon is to raise awareness that HIV/AIDS is an epidemic affecting the lives of millions of people globally, especially in developing countries.
The World AIDS Marathon is an initiative of Richard Brodsky, who collaborates with the Kisumu World AIDS Marathon Group, which raises the funds and organizes all the logistics for the marathon, and Athletics Kenya, which has organized the last three World AIDS. Since 2006 the World AIDS Marathon (WAM) has been held each year in Kisumu, Kenya on World AIDS Day, December 1. The marathon brings together runners from all walks of life, including some of the most vulnerable in the community, from all over the world and plays an important role in helping to break down the barriers of stigma associated with HIV. Participants and volunteers alike want people to know that no matter what a person’s HIV status, we can come together to support and encourage each other to live healthier lives.
In addition to the Marathon, “orphan dinner dances” will be held on November 27, 29 and 30 and December 2. A meet-and-greet dinner will be held on November 26, as well as a half marathon and shorter team relay distances. The pre-marathon dinner will be November 30. Medical providers will be on-hand to provide services for orphans and others. Since 2006, doctors and others at the Marathon provided medical care, oftentimes lifesaving for Kenyan 1,813 orphans.
The Richard M. Brodsky Foundation is based in New York and was founded by Richard M. Brodsky, an HIV/AIDS and brain cancer survivor. Its mission is to provide food, shelter and shoes for orphans living in Kenya, raise money for research for the cure or vaccine for AIDS, to help those already afflicted with AIDS, and to help those with brain cancer. Richard and Jodi will be running the Mohawk Hudson River, Albany, NY Marathon on October 13.
The Marathon needs to raise $29,000 more for the Marathon. To donate or register for the Marathon, go to www.worldaidsmarathon.com.
—Reporting by Hank Trout
Hank Trout, Senior Editor, edited Drummer, Malebox, and Folsom magazines in the early 1980s. A long-term survivor of HIV/AIDS (diagnosed in 1989), he is a forty-year resident of San Francisco, where he lives with his fiancé Rick. Follow him on Twitter @HankTroutWriter.